I’m thrilled to share my blog with Heather from Fit Mama Real Food. She is due to become a new mom any day now and is a true inspiration with her fitness habits and passion for real food. Enjoy today’s post!
Hi Happy Healthy Mama readers!
I’m Heather from Fit Mama Real Food. So happy to be here in Maryea’s place while she takes some needed time off. While I don’t have any cute kiddos or babies taking up my time yet, I’ll have a little boy here any day! My husband and I are expecting on May 25th, and it seems like time is going by quicker and quicker each day as the due date approaches. There are so many things we want to get done, wishes and hopes of how the house will look… all that kind of stuff. In reality, it really doesn’t matter too much. What’s more important (to me!) is being a bit more ready for the birth event. My biggest athletic event to date. All athletes know how important fueling is, and since birth is a major event, I definitely need to make sure to fuel!
Two snacks I plan to bring along? Cliff shot blocks — they taste so good and when I teach back to back classes they really do keep my energy up!
The other? My favorite energy balls. They’re filled with dates for instant energy + nuts for prolonged lasting energy… cause this ain’t gunna be no sprint, I’m up for the marathon (of all marathons)!
Now if you’re not giving birth, you can totally still make these. 🙂 They are an awesome pre-workout or mid-workout energy bite. Enjoy!
Almond, date, and coconut energy balls {guest post}
- Total Time: 65 minutes
- Yield: 6 balls 1x
Description
A healthy and tasty snack to keep those cravings at bay!
Ingredients
- 6 dates (about 1/3 cup)
- 1/8 cup almonds
- 1 tbsp unsweetened coconut
- 1/8 tsp sea salt
Instructions
- Soak the dates for 1 hour. After 1 hour add the dates (no water) to the food processor. Pulse 20-30 times until the dates turn into a chunky paste.
- Add the almonds to the food processor and pulse until the almonds are ground into very small pieces. Add in the coconut and sea salt. Pulse a few times.
- The mixture should come together very easily now. Form into 6 balls (about 1 tablespoon of mixture per ball). Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the fridge.
- If you make a big batch keep the extra in the freezer.
Notes
Variations
- You can use any nut here that you like… cashew or pecan would have been tasty too.
- Don’t do nuts? Use pumpkin or sunflower seeds instead.
- Some orange zest would add some refreshing flavor to these treats. I will definitely add this next time.
- If you don’t like coconut no worries, just leave it out. You’ll still get the long lasting energy from the nuts.
- Prep Time: 65 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Category: Snacks
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 ball
- Calories: 76
- Sugar: 7.1g
- Sodium: 62.5mg
- Fat: 4.3g
- Carbohydrates: 9.3g
- Protein: 1.5g
Thanks Maryea for letting me share these tasty energy balls with your readers! I hope you’ll all stop by Fit Mama Real Food sometime and say hello.
What is your favorite snack for instant energy? Any mamas out there wanna share what they munches on during labor to keep energy up? I’m all ears!
these look great! i think they are the perfect little snack for kids and grownups!
These are really impressive…perfect little balls of energy! I love the idea, especially since dates are my favorite.
I totally need to make these to stick in the diaper bag. Can you believe I’ve never even eaten a date? I know, it’s an embarrassing fact here in blogland 😉
These were delicious! I had some dates in the house that needed using up so I tried these yesterday. They were a huge hit at our play date with the toddlers as well as the parents. I didn’t end up soaking the dates because they were super moist. Next time I’ll just make a huge amount to freeze.
So glad you likes them Briana!!
Thanks so much for having me here Maryea!
Yummo… good luck for your birth journey… it’s a wild but MIND BLOWING ride. I couldn’t eat a thing during (made me feel sick) but afterwards I was STARVED… these balls would be perfect… like 100 of them after labour (the marathon to end all marathons!)
Unfortunately, you will be NPO (nothing by mouth) during labor! But you will get to eat right afterwards..? 🙂
Unless things have changed, that is!
Hey Kristin… I should be able to eat as long as I feel like it and can keep it down!
I would totally love these!
These look yummy! Thx for sharing! And best wishes on your up coming birth 🙂